The enhanced Premium Tax Credit is in danger and so is the health of Alaskans

By Tim Hunt

By the end of 2025, thousands of Alaskans may be hit hard by health insurance cost increases. The enhanced Premium Tax Credit (ePTC) is set to expire, and without renewal, costs could more than double.

The credits have been effective in reducing federal marketplace insurance premiums for self-employed, hourly wage earners, seasonal workers, and small business owners, and diminishing the number of people without access to vital healthcare resources.

The Juneau Reentry Coalition and its partners provide hands-on support for Alaskans — before, during, and after incarceration — to help find employment, housing, access to treatment and healthcare. If Congress does not extend the ePTC by the end of 2025, many Alaskans, including reentrants, will be paying exorbitant rates for health insurance. This will result in many going without healthcare or relying on more costly options, such as hospital emergency rooms, Medicaid, or government-funded health programs. The ePTC is crucial for working Alaskans to afford healthcare coverage and ensure that the cost burden isn’t passed on to taxpayers.

Those returning to their communities after incarceration have plenty of hurdles to clear. Access to basic needs and treatment, reliable transportation, sober housing, and stable employment are just a few of the hardships they face when they get out. The jobs available to reentrants are often low-paying, physically demanding positions without many benefits. Paying for healthcare is tough enough for all of us, but put yourself in the shoes of someone who has just been released from incarceration and is starting with nothing. The ePTC gives them an opportunity to purchase lower-cost health insurance. The chance to become a healthy, productive member of the community is increased and avoiding future legal system involvement is attainable. Everybody wins.

Not only are these tax credits beneficial for our justice-involved population, but they are also in the best interest of self-employed workers, hourly wage earners, seasonal employees and business owners in the state of Alaska. Extending the ePTC will protect the well-being of thousands of our family members, friends, and neighbors. Alaskans are hard-working, resilient people. Unaffordable healthcare should not be another challenge that we have to overcome.

• Tim Hunt is the Coordinator of the Juneau Reentry Coalition. He currently coordinates one of the eight reentry coalitions in the state of Alaska that helps justice-involved individuals transition from incarceration back to the community.